Best Twin Cities Salad Bar(gain)

$3.99/lb at Knollwood Cub

Regular readers of this blog know that I'm a (self-proclaimed) salad bar aficionado, and that I'm not shy about dishing out both compliments and criticisms, especially on price ("New Lindens Hills Co-Op").

Very much in the former category is the salad bar at the Knollwood (St. Louis Park) Cub: well-stocked, fresh, and cheap -- only $3.99 a pound.

IMHO, it's the best salad bar value in town.

Runners-up?

The salad bar at the new Rainbow just southeast of 394 and Turners Crossroad, in Golden Valley (by the West End complex and Costco); and Whole Foods' salad bar, just northwest of Lake Calhoun.

I hardly need to tell this to fellow "salad bar-ites," but the secret is to go a little before lunch hour (breakfast for me), when everything's freshest; and to select expensive, prepared foods rather than cheap carb's and starches.

P.S.: lest my knock on the Linden Hills Co-Op salad bar be misconstrued, I think it's got superb food; it's just the price ($8.99/lb) I was balking at.

New Linden Hills Co-op

In a Word: 'More'

Want a one word summary for the new Linden Hills Co-op that just opened near 44th and France, about six blocks west of the old location?

"More."

As in, more floor space (I'd guess at least double); more parking; more deli space and prepared foods; more eat-in dining tables for enjoying all those prepared foods, etc.

Twin Cities' Most Expensive Salad Bar?

And, at least for some items, more money: at $8.99 per pound, the Co-op's salad bar out-does even Whole Foods.

Tempering the sticker shock somewhat: great specials on selected items like Muir Glen Pasta Sauce ($2.50, vs. $4-plus regularly), as well as $5 coupons every two months for members.

Given the high quality (if expensive) food and produce, and the new, more accessible location, the Co-op can expect lots more members.

Are You "Salad Bar Savvy?"

The World's Most Expensive Mac 'n Cheese

OK, I will confess to eating more than my share of lunches at the $8/lb. salad bar directly across the street from my office (if the company wants a plug, they can pay me for it, but it's known to many as "Whole Paycheck").

If only to feel less self-indulgent, I pride myself on being "salad bar savvy."

That means:

--Never load up on the carbs -- not a bad idea, anyway, but for $8/lb. you can buy enough potatoes for a month.

--Do home in on the high "value-added" items: main dishes with a lot of meat and labor-intensive prep.

--Never go after 1 p.m. In fact, before 11:30 a.m., when everything is freshly put out, is best.

It never ceases to amaze me, grocery shopping mid-afternoon, to see someone going through a very picked over salad bar loading up on macaroni and cheese, potatoes, etc.